Louisiana Lengthens School Day for Foreign-Language Study

While foreign-language educators argue that developing the language
proficiency of students is difficult, if not futile, unless academic
programs begin in the elementary grades, few states have developed
curricula that require students to begin study that early.

The New York State Board of Regents last year proposed requiring
9th-grade students to take a test in a foreign language and to pass the
test before graduating from high school. The controversial proposal
would encourage, but not require, foreign-language instruction in
elementary schools.

And late last month, the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education moved that state into the forefront of those
encouraging language proficiency.

30 Minutes a Day

The board adopted a new policy that would require school districts
to use 30 minutes of every school day to teach foreign languages to
academically able students in grades 4 through 8, according to Lois N.
Michelli, education specialist for the board.

In January, the state board extended the length of the school day
from 330 minutes to 360 minutes.

Last month, it said that the extra time should be used to teach
foreign languages to students who are performing at the level set for
their grade. For less academically able students, the time is to be
used to master basic skills.

The language program will begin in 1985-86 with students in grade 4.
It is to be phased in through grade 8 over a four-year period,
according to Ms. Michelli, who said that a state law requires that the
teaching of languages be optional in grades 1 to 3.

Districts that have developed programs to teach languages in those
grades, however, will be required to use the newly alloted 30 minutes
for that purpose, Ms. Michelli said.

More Teachers Needed

The state board has estimated that the it will need an additional
1,500 foreign-language teachers, according to Ms. Michelli. This will
"create some problems," she said, but the state has "numerous areas
from which those teachers could be recruited."

Teacher-certification requirements permit regular classroom teachers
with 18 credit hours of language study to teach language, and the state
could use English-as-second-language specialists and bilingual
specialists to teach languages, according to Ms. Michelli.

She said that "teachers with regular certification in a subject area
can take extra coursework to get the extra certification to teach
languages" in elementary school.

In addition, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana
has an agreement with Belgium to supply "all needed French teachers"
for the state, Ms. Michelli said, and a teacher-exchange program
arranged through the Cordell Hull Foundation could be used to recruit
Spanish and Italian teachers for the state from South America.--sr

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